The past couple of years, quite a few people we know lost their jobs and were faced, suddenly, with a big life change. Most discovered that losing their job actually brought all sorts of good things into their life, even as it meant financial uncertainty. They started doing the things they loved and hadn’t had the time or focus to do, taking more risks, putting themselves “out there” in new ways. This transitional path is not an easy one though, and it helps to connect with other people in similar circumstances, and find ways to affirm the positive.

Cards of Change is designed to do just that. It’s a website that posts the annotated and retrofitted business cards of creative people who have been laid off.

Our mission is to collect as many business cards and stories of positive change of people who have recently been laid off and connect them with new opportunities from potential employers, business partners and people who make the effort to look on the bright side of life.

…Cards of Change is a place where the glass is always half-full. A destination where all the bad news of the day takes a back seat to stories of individual success.

The cards are quite amazing, like therapeutic little artworks.

Cards of Change is the brainchild of Tom Van Daele, a former creative director at advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day who, having been laid off, started his own studio, Unknownlab.

According to Ernest Beck at Design Observer, the idea for the website originated with a campaign Unknownlab created for Artemide, the Italian lighting company; it offered discounts on lamps to entrepreneurs and home-office workers to “encourage creativity during grim times”. When Artemide decided not to proceed with the second phase of the campaign – Cards of Change – Van Daele created the website himself, in itself a wonderfully affirming act.

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